Skippy

Just to be clear though, he doesn’t just hire the bikes out. He provides guided tours and he is one hell of a rider and knows the area like the back of his hand.

I can do that, no problem. He’s also got on site accommodation and a fantastic set up (bar, massive pool, great food).

You’ve got a point there, in fact lots of valid points. Mind you, imagine his little Welsh ginger boat race when a gaggle of forum members turn up. If he wants to run with the big dogs he needs to learn to piss high!

C’mon folks, how hard could it be to organise a trip down here? I know @XTreme is always taking the piss about you lot not being able to hack it but just think what a ticking great laugh it would be to ride down, set up camp somewhere for a few days and ride out each day. Tarmac or trails, the choice would be yours. Over to Pete now to coordinate it for next year.

Technically not taken by me but by a mate yesterday at a cider festival in Hertfordshire. I knew I was a man of many talents.

Benelli or as Pete thinks, it’s a Ben-Ting-Tong

Only unknown to the small minded ………… now the new 450 twin Himalayan is due out towards the end of 2024 so you never know

It’s not about resale value. It’s about what you get for your money at point-of-purchase and the Bonelli is far better value than the Honda. Now I agree, secondhand resale value is a different matter, but I’ve never bought a bike with resale value in mind. I bet you have

A couple more photos to elicit a reaction from @XTreme et al.

Had a spin over to a dealers on the outskirts of Cartagena this morning via a mate’s garage/man-cave. For all you anti-Chinkyites I thought I’d take a photo of the new Benelli TRK702X…….nice bit of kit and much better value than the CB500X.

That’s because you take it out after every ride, wash and polish it, wrap it in cotton wool and kiss it goodnight. I bet you put it right next to your cosseted downpipes.

I‘m not proud to say it but many years ago while away on a bike trip to Lloret de Mar we all started drinking pints of vodka, tequila and Red Bull for the equivalent of £1 a pint. The results were horrendous and even when the hangover went the next afternoon I was still buzzing. NEVER, EVER AGAIN.

Very nice Bob

Remind me what you’ve replaced the Rally with Bob?

That’s the version for old people Bob, those that can’t hold on over 70mph.

Bitchy

Cheers Bob, it’s a spectacular area for tarmac and there’s plenty of trails too so it pretty much caters for everyone. Winter time it’s gets very cold and there’s a fair bit of snow and ice so you need to pick your time carefully. As for the bike, yep all fine. It’s was a bad connection on the battery after all that. It seems that one of the terminal screws just wouldn’t tighten down properly and it was causing the problem (an easy fix and I did apologise for wasting their time but they were cool about it and said “that’s what the warranty is for”). They also changed the fork oil while they had it as the front felt a bit choppy. It’s so much better now.

Calm down…….never gonna happen you gobshite. Mind you, at least it would start divorce proceedings!

To be fair, it would’ve been a little bit more comfortable, but that bike of mine goes well, handles well, and it’s not uncomfortable, even after a 370 km round-trip. I also wish I was married to Julia Roberts, but that ain’t going to happen either!

Fuck me, you’re a prophet of doom now as well Pete

Another billynomates.es adventure today to the area around Velefique known locally as the Spanish Stelvio. That’s a bit of a stretch to call it that but it’s a fantastic ride nonetheless. I didn’t mention it to the Welsh Jonah as I wanted a stress free ride

So far today has been filled with joy………NOT! Gardening, cutting bushes that seem to double in size overnight. Job done now and that’s quite enough of the boring shit. Time for refreshments